The Kaiser class of ironclad warships was a pair of vessels built for the German Imperial Navy in the early 1870s. The lead ship, Kaiser, was laid down in 1871 and launched in 1874. Deutschland was laid down in 1872 and launched in 1874; both ships were built by the Samuda Brothers shipyard in London. They were the last German capital ships built by a foreign shipyard. Built as armored frigates, the ships were armed with a main battery of eight guns in a central armored battery and were capable of a top speed of .